Crane v. Iowa Dept. of Job Service, 86-940
| Decision Date | 30 July 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-940,86-940 |
| Citation | 412 N.W.2d 194 |
| Parties | Jeffrey R. CRANE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF JOB SERVICE, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
William A. Shuminsky of Shuminsky & Molstad, Sioux City, for petitioner-appellant.
Blair H. Dewey and William C. Whitten of the Employment Appeal Bd., Des Moines, for respondent-appellee.
Heard by OXBERGER, C.J., and DONIELSON and HAYDEN, JJ.
Claimant, Jeffrey Crane, appeals from a district court decision which affirmed the denial of unemployment compensation benefits by the Department of Job Service. On appeal claimant makes the following assertions: (1) there was not substantial evidence to support the decision by the agency to deny benefits; (2) the alleged act for which claimant was discharged was a past act due to its condonation by his employer, Metz Baking Company (Metz), and therefore cannot support a finding of misconduct; and (3) the violation by Metz of their collective bargaining agreement estopped Metz from asserting claimant's alleged act constituted misconduct and precluded Job Service from finding misconduct. We affirm.
I. Substantial Evidence. Our scope of review in an appeal from a final agency decision is at law, not de novo. We are limited to the record made before the agency. Taylor v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 362 N.W.2d 534, 537 (Iowa 1985); Green v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 299 N.W.2d 651, 655 (Iowa 1980). The determination to be made is whether the decision by Job Service is supported by substantial evidence when the record is viewed as a whole. Iowa Code § 17A.19(8)(f) (1987). We are bound by the findings of the agency if they are supported by substantial evidence. Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84, 85 (Iowa 1979). Evidence is substantial if a reasonable person would find it adequate to reach the given conclusion. Mercy Health Center v. State Health Facilities, 360 N.W.2d 808, 811-12 (Iowa 1985); Messina v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 341 N.W.2d 52, 59 (Iowa 1983).
Claimant was discharged February 6, 1985, for misconduct after allegedly partially exposing his buttocks at work in an aborted "moon" of a group of fellow employees on the evening of February 4.
An employee discharged for misconduct may be held ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits under the rules of the department which provide:
Misconduct is defined as a deliberate act or omission by a worker which constitutes a material breach of the duties and obligations arising out of such worker's contract of employment. Misconduct as the term is used in the disqualification provision as being limited to conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer's interest as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of employees ... or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's interests or of the employee's duties and obligations to the employer.
Iowa Admin.Code § 370-4.32(1)(a). This definition of misconduct has been held to accurately reflect the intent of the legislature when it provided in Iowa Code section 96.5(2) for the disqualification for unemployment benefits of those persons discharged for misconduct. Huntoon v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 275 N.W.2d 445, 448 (Iowa 1979).
Claimant asserts the evidence of his partial exposure was not substantial since Metz allegedly introduced only hearsay evidence at the agency hearing and did not provide corroboration. Claimant asserts corroboration of hearsay evidence of misconduct is required by Iowa Administrative Code section 370-4.32(9) (). We need not decide whether claimant's interpretation of this departmental rule is correct as we conclude the record reflects corroboration of the hearsay evidence of Metz.
At the agency hearing, Richard Bonahoon, the plant superintendent of Metz, testified he heard claimant admit at a grievance meeting held February 11th to having partially exposed his buttocks at work on February 4th. Initially at the hearing, claimant acknowledged making this admission but implied he had misspoke at the grievance meeting. When asked why he would say he had "partially mooned" if he had not actually done so, claimant then denied having ever made the misstatement. He asserted he had said somebody else might have said he had "partially mooned." He contended he had only pulled up his shirt and unbuckled his pants in preparation for the act before he stopped when it appeared the plant manager's son could see him.
The testimony of Mr. Bonahoon regarding claimant's admission and claimant's apparent ambivalence on the subject serve to corroborate the other evidence Metz introduced to prove the partial exposure occurred. We find this evidence was substantial since it was adequate for a reasonable person to conclude claimant intentionally partially exposed his buttocks at work on the evening of February 4th. See Mercy Health Center, 360 N.W.2d at 811-12. As such, we uphold the finding of fact by Job Service. See Hawk, 282 N.W.2d at 85.
We also uphold the finding by Job Service that claimant's action constituted misconduct as defined by the departmental rule. Metz is in the business of food preparation, which implicates the need for sanitation and the interest of the company in retaining a reputation for sanitary working conditions. Metz also has an interest, as an employer per se, in maintaining a work environment free of acts of a conceivably sexually harassing nature. Claimant's partial exposure of his buttocks raises obvious sanitation concerns. Moreover, the record reflects his action was directed in part at female employees, some of whom were offended.
In prior cases we have found the use of vulgar language may constitute misconduct and thus justify the denial of unemployment benefits. See Warrell v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 356 N.W.2d 587 (Iowa App.1984); Zeches v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 333 N.W.2d 735 (Iowa App.1983). We find the egregiousness of claimant's action in this case to be on a level with the misconduct in those cases. We conclude claimant's deliberate act was in "violation or disregard of standards of behavior which [Metz] had the right to expect of employees," and thereby constituted misconduct.
II. Past or Current Act. A finding of misconduct must be based upon a current act for unemployment benefits to be denied. Myers v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 373 N.W.2d 507, 510 (Iowa App.1985). Claimant asserts the act for which he was discharged was a past act due to its condonation by Metz. Relying upon application of the principles of agency law, claimant alleges Metz condoned his action through the participation and knowledge of its foreman, Fred Faber, who was claimant's supervisor. Claimant states the idea that he "moon" fellow employees originated with Mr. Faber, who also suggested the time and location within the plant for the act to occur. Claimant...
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